Medical treatments for patients do not typically come in one size. Patient and environmental variables (e.g., ambient air temperature, humidity, etc) can vary how a given treatment is to be applied to a patient. One area where individual characteristics can affect medical treatment is the provision of respiratory assistance for patients. For example, in the treatment of sleep apnea or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) via Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). Generally, treatment involves providing a supply of air or breathable gas from a blower (sometimes referred to as a flow generator) to a patient via an air delivery conduit (e.g. a flexible tube) and a patient interface, such as, for example, a full-face or nasal mask, or nasal prongs. While treatment can be effective, there are multiple variables that if incorrectly accounted for can reduce the overall effectiveness of the treatment.
For example, the masks used in CPAP treatment should be matched to the specific characteristics of a patient's face. Masks act to provide a sealed cavity around a portion of a person's head (e.g., over the nasal and/or mouth areas of a person). However, a poorly sized mask may result in an incomplete seal being formed. An incomplete seal may lead to leaks in the mask during treatment. These leaks can lead to further negative effects. For example, the efficiency of the CPAP treatment may be reduced which may lead to further OSA episodes. Also, the leaks in the seal may cause high pitched noises to occur that may disturb others. Further, the leaks may cause skin or eye irritation on the wearer of the mask. A properly sized and fitted mask can help to avoid these problems.
Conventionally, various techniques may seek to address such problems. For example, templates may be used to determine a patient's head size or the custom mask may be created from a mold of the patient's face. However, changes in patient or environmental characteristics may reduce the effectiveness of the mask.